Monthly Archives: February 2010

Wales RU team – only in the 2nd half

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In rugby union, a full time game is 80 minutes, divided into two halves. Most teams will put their best efforts in scoring in the first half and attempt to keep the momentum going in the second – if not for the scoring, the lead. This behaviour, however, does not seem to apply to the Welsh rugby team in the 2010 Six Nations.

Pretty much since their first game in this competition, the Red Dragons seem only interested in playing rugby in the second half. In as much as they provide quite a teeth-gritting and nerve-wrecking spectacle, they leave everyone frustrated, including themselves. Of course, all followers of the Six Nations championship will remember Wales’ legendary comeback last 13 Feb where they snatched an epic victory against Scotland after trailing 24-14 in the dying minutes of the match and winning 31-24. But that is not the point. After Friday’s (26 Feb) defeat against France where they tried a deja vu performance, I believe that everyone would definitely like to see them play the full 80 minutes in the same determination and passion as they have done in the last 40 minutes of the game. Especially when they face Ireland next on 13 Mar at Croke Park.

Please, for our health’s sake.

Wales v Ireland in 2009 Six Nations | Photo credit: ArunMarsh on Flickr

Wales v Ireland in 2009 Six Nations | Photo credit: ArunMarsh on Flickr

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Las Vegas, in style and luxury

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Have you been to Las Vegas? The Disneyland of those who can afford to throw away money as well as those who throw all that they’ve got with it, too. If not, then why not get help from those who are in the know, like Vegas Chill?

Las Vegas at night

Las Vegas at night by Arto Teräs (used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license)

Vegas Chill provides ideas of things to do and see in the city. The site provides a listing of upcoming concerts and sports events. And if you are craving for a gastronomic experience then Vegas Chill also gives you the best of Las Vegas wine and dining places.

Las Vegas is also known for the quickie weddings like the infamous Britney Spears and Jason Alexander nuptials back in 2004. But if you have a bit more class than that, then you can count on Vegas Chill for ideas on how to do with style. Even with a low budget! And since a wedding isn’t complete without a stag or hen party, Vegas Chill can also provide some tips — from a super laid back event to extreme wild partying.

Las Vegas offers a treat for all five senses. If you’re visiting for the first time and lucky enough to have the time then perhaps you could do everything that it has to offer. Otherwise, when it comes to the Sin City, then you should check out Vegas Chill for information and resources to plan a luxurious and stylish trip.

This is a sponsored post.

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April Journeys is good to go!

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More and more people are using their mobile devices to browse internet. According to a report by eMarketer, the number of mobile internet users will continue to increase and is forecasted at 1.7 billion by 2014. That almost everyone in China and India combined! With this trend, it is important for websites to be accessible through a mobile device.

So, how can you mobilise your website or blog?

There are various organisations that can assist in designing and creating your mobile presence these days. Or you can use ‘free’ tools like Mowser or MoFuse. The drawback with the latter option is that they really do not push traffic directly to your website. This is because they point mobile users to a subdomain of their website, which is supposed to be your .mobi site. They mean well but for this blog, I used a WordPress plugin called WordPress Mobile Pack. This way, people still type my blog’s URL (http://apriljourneys.mychronicles.net) on their mobile browsers and not something like apriljourneys.mobiprovider.mobi.

For sure there are other ways, but for me, the plugin route is the best option since my blog is powered by WordPress. So, if you’re already reading this from your mobile browser, do let me know what you think by leaving a comment. If you haven’t checked it out, then this is what you’ll expect to see somewhat. This screenshot was taken from a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

April Journeys on a mobile device

April Journeys on a mobile device

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My SP3 upgrade experience

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Image linked from Flickr user imagos (thru Creative Commons)

Image linked from Flickr user imagos (thru Creative Commons)

With the looming cessation of support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 in 13 July 2010, I have given in to upgrading my home PC to Service Pack 3. (Hears all gasps of horror.) According to Jerry Bryant of Microsoft in a bulletin dated 04 Feb, people need to either upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows XP Service Pack 3. I chose the latter because the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor told me that my PC is not able to accommodate this new and much hyped OS. Really got no choice there.

As advised, I backed up my drives (150Gb is the size of my backup file) and created a restore point. In hindsight, creating a restore point was a bit moo because if the upgrade fails and my PC gets f***ed, how on earth would I be able to run restore?

Anyhow, since I have constantly and repeatedly rejected the automatic updates for SP3 in the past, I had to go to the Microsoft Update website in IE (more gasps of horror!). It said that with my internet connection, it would take 22 minutes to download the SP3 installation file. Great, I though, won’t take long. Of course, these things are not accurate as they say because the download took 45 minutes. And for some reason, it attempted to do it twice.

Continue reading →

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It’s free, stop complaining!

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Image linked from AJC1s Flickr page

Image linked from AJC1's Flickr page

Facebook has changed the layout of the home/landing page — yet again. As expected, you see quite a number of statuses and posts talking about how they don’t like the new layout. When Facebook changed it prior to this one, there were several groups created like this.

Like any other software, there are people at Facebook who continuously reviews the usability elements of this product. In this most recent change, they told us that they wanted the front page to be simpler and clutter-free. Personally, I agree. But there could be other reasons why they did what they have done.

Thing is, Facebook is free. They get the bulk of their revenue through advertising. It makes more sense that they optimise the pages to address the requirements of these advertisers. Of course, I think that Zuckerberg and co listens to the likes of you and me but I believe that the people who brings in the bagful of cash have a very influential position on how things should look like. If not directly, the product managers at Facebook would certainly have their interest.

It’s quite simple really. If you want Facebook to accommodate your every whim, then you better be prepared to pay.

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Baby steps to baking

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Updated on 06 Feb with corrections and clarifications. See amends in bold italics below.

Ever since I became independent, I’ve managed to learn how to cook for myself and for other people, too. I wouldn’t say I’m good enough to compete in Masterchef but I could certainly prepare a decent meal. The same was not true, in my opinion, with baking. Flour was certainly one of the ingredients that I dreaded.

I first tried my hand at baking when my mum visited me in Madrid back in 1997 (methinks, not sure). My mum is such an excellent baker — she baked all of my birthday cakes when I was growing up — that it was such a pressure. My initial attempt (and the only one till now) was a chocolate cake, which ended up as chocolate brownies. In other words, it flopped. Since then, I never owned any of the tools or equipment associated to baking.

Two weeks ago, while I was cleaning my flat, I chanced upon a baking recipe book in my book shelf. I began to browse the pages and saw a recipe that seemed quite easy — cappuccino cake. Most of the ingredients are already in my cupboard. The only one missing is the mascarpone so I went out to get some. I followed the recipe, adjusting and improvising along the way especially with the quantities since I don’t own kitchen scales. Half an hour later, I had overcome the chocolate cake (cum brownies) disaster and pulled out some gorgeous cakes, which turned out to be quite delicious, too. Well, according to the boyfriend, at least.

I know you expert bakers out there would consider this feat as rather mundane now but it was such an achievement for me. It definitely marks a new beginning in my kitchen.

Yummy cappuccino cakes

Yummy cappuccino cakes

Here is the recipe for these yummy cappuccino cakes.

  1. Pre-heat oven at 190 degrees C at least 10 minutes before.
  2. Mix 125g (4oz) of caster sugar and 125g (4oz) of butter into a large bowl.
  3. Beat 2 medium eggs into a smaller bowl and slowly add into the butter and sugar mixture. If it curdles, add a teaspoon of all-purpose self-raising flour.
  4. Add a tablespoon of ground coffee into the mix. Yes, you can use instant coffee. Mix until smooth.
  5. Sift 5oz of all-purpose flour and fold into the mix.
  6. Scoop a spoonful of mix into the cake holders. These quantities yielded about 18 cakes.
  7. Place into oven to bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool before serving, although that didn’t stop the boyfriend from stuffing one into his mouth shortly after they came out from the oven.
  8. Enjoy! Sharing optional.
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